The Guild Master Whose Hobby Was Helping People Found Himself Surrounded by the Strongest, Overly Attached Members - 29

Chapter 29: Let’s Have a Drink

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“This is…Quite a fine item. The alcohol content is high as well.”

Lisette lightly tilted the glass she had been poured and tested the aroma. As expected of her refined taste, but in the world I came from, you’d still be underage.

“Looks so tasty…”

Sera also lifted her glass, her face brimming with curiosity.

“Alright then, cheers!”

At my call, everyone raised their glasses. The light clink overlapped, and the feast began.

But a few minutes later…

“…Leon?”

The glass in Leon’s hand, as he sat diagonally across from me, tipped with a clatter.

“Leon-nii? Your face… It’s all red… Or rather, purple?”

“Fu… Fuhehh…”

His younger sister, Iris, peered at him anxiously. And no wonder—Leon had only taken a single sip. Even so, his eyes were already unfocused, and he was halfway collapsing out of his chair.

“Wait, Leon… Don’t tell me you…”

“Shin-san… Shinnn-saaaan… Ahaha… I’m done forrr…”

His head wobbled like a newborn fawn’s. He turned out to be weaker to alcohol than I had thought.

“Le-Leader! Could this perhaps be poison…?”

“No, no. He just has weak alcohol tolerance, that’s all. Let’s put him to bed.”

Resigned, I stood and pulled Leon’s arm over my shoulder. His limp body was surprisingly heavy, and the smell of alcohol was uncomfortably close.

“I’ll borrow a bedroom for a bit.”

“Leader… My deepest apologies! It was my failure to supervise…!”

Ragnar bowed his head so forcefully he looked about ready to prostrate himself, but it wasn’t really his fault.

“Thank you, Shin-san.”

Iris looked at me with a slightly worried expression.

“It’s fine. He’ll be back on his feet after some rest. …More importantly, don’t drink too much yourself, Iris.”

When I said that with a small smile, Iris’s cheeks faintly flushed.

“…Y-Yes! I’ll be careful. Also, I’ll come with you!”

Together with Iris, I carried Leon into the bedroom in the back.

Man, he really is heavy.

Still, being able to collapse this completely from just a sip—that might be a talent of its own kind.

“Come on, lie down.”

“Nnnghh… Shin-saaan… Don’t be so mad at meee… I tried my best, y’know…”

“I’m not mad… Also, who the hell do you think I am right now…”

I let out a wry smile and gently laid him down under the blanket. For the time being, that was one worry off my shoulders—or so I thought.

“Shin-san…”

A small voice came from behind me. When I turned, Iris was watching with a faintly uneasy expression.

“Do you think Nii-san will be able to sleep?”

“Yeah, he’ll be out soon. …Though once he sobers up, he’ll probably be embarrassed about this.”

I joked lightly, and Iris let out a quiet giggle. But her smile faded quickly.

“…Ever since we were little, Nii-san has always pushed himself too hard.”

She murmured softly.

“Always for the sake of the village. …If there was a child without a family, he would take care of them. If someone was struggling, he would farm in their place. That’s the kind of brother he was.”

I listened in silence. Her voice wasn’t quite telling a story—it was spilling out in fragments.

“But… Deep down, I think Nii-san always wanted to lean on someone. To have someone protect him. …Because that’s how I felt too.”

Her gaze fell upon Leon as he slept in the bed. As though she was asking for forgiveness… As though she was praying from afar…

“…That’s why, Shin-san, I’m grateful to you.”

“Grateful?”

“Yes. …Because you became my brother’s hero.”

That hadn’t been my intention. I only stepped in to protect the management allowance. But according to Iris, that was already what had happened.

“…Um.”

Iris edged just a little closer. The faint scent of the wine she had drunk drifted over.

“…I’ve always thought Shin-san was amazing. Ever since the first time you saved us.”

She pressed her hand lightly against her chest and stepped even closer.

“But… I feel like it’s not just that. I want to know more about you, Shin-san. I want to be someone who helps you too.”

Her fingertips pinched the hem of my clothes, ever so lightly.

“And someday… If you could see me as a girl… That would make me happy.”

In the quiet room, I averted my eyes for a second and let out a faint laugh.

“…Iris, you’re drunk too, aren’t you?”

“I-I’m not drunk!”

She quickly turned her face away, but the blush on her cheeks was obvious. I cleared my throat once and deliberately spoke in a lighter tone.

“Well… Thanks. It means a lot to hear that.”

Iris’s shoulders gave a small tremor, but she didn’t turn back. She kept her back to me.

“…Anyway, I should head back. The party’s still going on, after all. And if Ragnar keeps drinking, that might get dangerous.”

“…Hehe, true. I think I’ll stay here and watch over my brother a little longer.”

I nodded to her, then took a step toward the door and suddenly stopped.

“…Ah, right.”

It was something trivial, but for some reason, it stuck in my mind.

“Didn’t the results of the rank exam come out already?”

When I glanced back, Iris blinked in surprise.

“…Eh? Oh, yes. Come to think of it, Nii-san mentioned it earlier to Ragnar-san.”

She began searching Leon’s pockets and pulled out the two envelopes I had seen earlier. Plain white envelopes, stamped with the guild’s seal from the royal capital.

“…Here they are.”

She opened one, checked it, then opened the other in the same way.

“How was it?”

By my guess, Leon would be C-rank and Iris D-rank. That way, even if I acted a little high and mighty, they wouldn’t be able to rise above me, and if we took on a request, I’d have a pretext to keep them safe by staying off the frontlines.

In daily life, I’d be able to give them errands—

“Both Nii-san and I are A-rank!”

I smiled faintly, then left the room.

“Shin-san?? What’s wrong?”

I ignored her words and just kept drinking without saying anything.

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